Well drilling apparatus



Jan. 12, 1932.

R. P. SIMMONS WELL DRILLING APPARATUS INVENTOR Q I ATTORNEY 5Sheets-Sheet 1-71 Jar/747,90 J? JJMMOMS' Original Filed May 18. 1927Jan.

12, 1932. R. P. SIMMONS 1,841,302

.WELL DRILLING APPARATUS Original Filed Ma 18,. 192-1 5 Shets-Sheet 2Ric/$.3-

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WELL DRILLING APPARATUS Original Filed May '18, 192! 5 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENIOR TNE ATTORNEY Jan. 12, 1932.

R. P. SIMMONS WELL DRILLING APPARATUS Original Filed May 18, 192! 5Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY Jan. 12 '1932. v R. P. SIMMONS 1,841,302

- WELL DRILLING APPARAT'US Original Filed May 18, 1927. 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, 1932 UNITED STATES,

RICHARD I. SIMMONSQOF NEW YORK, N. Y.

WELL DRILLING APPARATUS Application filed May 18, 1927, Serial No.192,449. Renewed March 14, 1930.

This invention relates to improvements in well drilling apparatus andhas for its primary object, theprovision of a means for removing thedrilled substance from the well 5 to the surface of the earth during thedrilling operation to greatly reduce the time and expense now requiredto drill a well.

Another object of the invention is to lift the drilled earth and rock apredetermined l distance by the use of a system of conveyors,

crush the drilled earth and rock into disintegrated articles andsimultaneously dry the particles by passing the crushed mass through aheater, and lifting the dried particles to .15 the surface of the wellby air, water or steam.

Another object is the provision of a well drilling machine having anelectric motor driven rotary drill, the speed of which may be varied tosuit the strata of rock or dirt 'being drilled through, and which speedis controlled from the surface of the well.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resldes 1n certainnovel construc-v tion and combination and arrangement of it parts, theessential features of which are 1 Figure 5 is an enlarged detailvertical sec;

tion through the current distributor mechanism. r

the line 6'-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional .view on the hue 7-7 of Figure 1.

' Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view on the l ne 8-8 of Figure 1.

Fi re 9 is A. horizontal sectional view on the hue a 9 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view on Figure 10 is a horizontalsectional view on the line 1010.o'f Figure 1.

Fi ure 11 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 11-11 of Figure 4;.

Figure 12 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 1212 of Figure 4.

Figure 13 is a sectional elevational view showing the latch actuatingdevice.

' Figure 14 .is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a slightmodified form of my 00 invention.

Figure 15 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 21-21-of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a horizontal sectional view on the" line 2222 of Figure 14.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawings. 1

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference character 'Adesignates a 79 non-rotatable tubular housin head including an innercylinder wall 10 aving beveled seats 11 provided adjacent the topthereof for the reception of an electric motor 12, which motor has flatbeveled portions 13 for co-action with the seats 11. The motor isinserted into the tubular housing head by low ering the same by a cable14 havin connection with an eye 15 provided on t e top of the motorcasing. When lowered into the 3 tubular housing head, the motorautomatically seats itself and therefor the same cannot pass apredetermined point. I

The tubular housing head'section A also r includes an outer cylinderwall 16 which is integral with the inner cylinder wall 10' but spacedtherefrom to provide air ocketstherebetween. The opposed ends of t ecasing A are respectively threaded to an up r tubular housing headcasing section B an a lower tubular housing head casing section C bothof which have 1111161 and outer s aced walls disposed in verticalalignment wit the inner and outer walls of the section A.

Enclosed within the inner cylinder 10 and disposed below the motor is aspeed transmission 17 for varying the speed from the motor driven shaftto the driven shaft 18 {which lattershaft extends downward and termnatesadjacent the bottom of the casing A casing 19 fits snugly within theinner cylinder wall 10 and is closed at opposite ends to provide abearing for thedriven shaft 18. The casing 19 is div :led by spacedpartitions 20 and 21 into three separate compartments 22, 23 and 24 andwhich I shall refer to as a pulverizer compartment, crusher compartment, and conveyor compartment, respectively. The compartment 22 housesa pulverizer 25 which comprises a stationary ring 26 and an eccentricrotor 27 fixed to the shaft 18. An inlet 28 is provided in the partition20 for the passage of the dirt and rock to be pulverized after passingthrough the crusher now to be described. An electric heating coil 29surrounds the ring'26 for heating the same whereby the pulverizedparticles are thoroughly dried as they pass therethrough for a purposeto be hereinafter mentioned.

Fixed to the shaft 18 and housed within the compartment is a crusher 30,having outwardly extending spirally arranged teeth or lugs 31 extendingfrom the periphery thereof. The crusher is also eccentrically mountedwith respect to the walls of the housing so that the mass to be crushedenters through the inlet 32 provided in the partition 21 and is carriedaround and crushed against the side wall of the housing.

Fixed to the shaft 18 and disposed in the compartment 24, is a spiralconveyor 33 which lifts the drilled substance from the lower end of thecasing 19, the end wall of which is provided with an inlet 34. Thecrusher 30 and the conveyor 33 are surrounded by an electric heatingcoil 35 which dries the drilled mass as it is lifted therethrough.

The shaft 18 terminates just below the conveyor 33 and depending fromthe end wall of the casing 19 is a stationary collar 36 within which thelower end of the shaft 18 extends. Slidable but non-rotatable within thecollar 36 is a sleeve 37 which overlaps the end of the shaft 18 and astub shaft 38 provided on a screw conveyor 39. The lower end of theshaft 18 is provided with a square socket 40 for receiving the squaredreduced shank 41 extending from the stub shaft 38. The conveyor 39 iskeyed for rotation with the driven shaft 18 but is reciprocal withrespect thereto to lift the drilling tool 42 a slight distance from thebottom of the well hole during the drilling operation. The tool 42 isdetachably associated with the lower end of the conveyor 39 by providinga reduced threaded stud 43 thereon for threading engagement in a socketpil'pvided in the bottom of the conveyor 39.

e drilling tool 42 is provided with diverging passages or jets 44 whichcommunicate with a compartment 45 within the body of the conveyor forthe passage of "compressed air or its equivalent used in blowing the.

drilled substance to the surface of the well. An air line or conduit 46leads from the chamber45 to the air inlet duct 47 provided in the wallof the casing 19, and to which a flexible hose 48 is connected, whichhose leads to a compressed air pump or tank (not shown) and which isdisposed on the surface.

For imparting a periodical reciprocating movement to the grinding tool42, I provide a cam shape or irregular groove 49 in the lower end of theshaft 18 andwhich co-acts with a groove 50 provided in the inner wall ofthe sleeve 37 to form a ball race for the reception of a loose ballbearing 51. It will be obvious that when the high spot of the cam groovepasses over the ball, the conveyor 39 and drilling tool will be movedupward, dur ing which movement, the drilling tool will have a biting,slicing and chipping elfect also an opportunity to cool as it is liftedfrom engagement with the substance being drilled. Slidably mounted oninclined tracks 52 provided in the body of the conveyor 39, areexpansible and contractible bits 53 which are adapted to cut the wallsof the well beyond the plane of the drilling tool 42. The upper faces ofthe bits are provided with spaced teeth 54 for co-action with a wormshaft 55. The inner ends of the worm shafts are pro vided with beveledgears 57 for constant mesh with a ring gear 57 carried by the drivenshaft 58 of an electric motor 59 disposed within a compartment 61provided in the conveyor 39. The conveyor 39 is constructed of twoseparate sections fixedly connected together in order to facilitate theinsertion of the mo tor 59 and its operating parts.

In order to supply current to the electric heaters and motor 59,1 pass acable 62 through the casing 19 to the surface of the well to a suitablesource of supply and certain of the wires within the cable lead to themotor 12 and heating coils hereinbefore mentioned. Two conductor wires62 lead to contacts 63 provided in a stationary collar 64 whichencircles the stub shaft 38. To cause a. contact to be constantlyeffected between the conductor wires'62 and the wires 65 leading to themotor 59, during rotation and reciprocation of the stub shaft 38, Iconnect the wires 65 to contact rings 66 which are insulated apart andengage the respective contacts 63 during the upward movement of the stubshaft 38. The rings 66 are sufficiently wide enough to accommodate forthe slight up-' wardmovement of the stub shaft, whereby current may passto the motor 59 without interruption.

From the description thus far, the operation of the apparatus is asfollows :In starting to drill a well, it is first necessary to provide ahole of a width and depth to receive the tubular housin head sections Aand C, which may be dug y the use of a drill now employed for thisnurpose. When the desired depth is reached, the sections A and C arelowered therein and the drill unit is lowered into the sections for adistance to cause the'motor 12 to come to rest oil itsseat 11. Thedrilling tool 42 and bits53 conthct with the'bottom of the partiallydrilled well and the motor 12 turned on.' Rotati will then 5 be impartedto' the driven shaft 8 through the; transmission 17 which will turn' thedrill tool 42, to bore into the earth, and rotate the bits 53 to cutthat portion of the earth not touched by the drill 42 whereby to producea hole of a size equal to the diameter of the sections A, B'and C. Theweight'of the unit causes the boring tools to automatically movedownward under .the control of the cable 14' as the drilling operationproceeds. The tu-' bular housing head and its following-section's aresuspended from the surface of the well in any suitable manner to preventthe bot-;

tom of the same from dropping down upon the bits 53. However, thetubular head is gradually lowered as the depth of the well increases.Either air, water ,or steam under pressure passes. from a suitable.source of sup ply down through the hose 48, inlet 47,-conduit 46 to thechamber from where it passes through the jets or ducts 44 to the end ofthe drilling tool and thence upward about the conveyor 39, throughthe'passage 34, chamber 24, opening 32, chamber 23, opening 28,.

chamber, 22, and thence to a discharge or return hose 'leading to thesurface ofthe well. The air tends to lift the-lo0se dirt and rock initstravel from the bottom of thewell, but itsIprimary purpose is to blow orpuinp the pulverized material to the surface. The drilled material islifted upward by the conveyors 39 and 33 to the crusher 30, through theopenings 34 and 32, and which crusher reduces the density of theparticles of material after which the'colum'n of air or water passingthrough the, crusher, carries the same into the pulverizer 25 throughthe opemng 28. The materialis reduced to-powderedform by the pulverizerand is blown upward. through the discharge pipe 60 to the surface. 45

will be rotatedat a slower speed when drill- I in through rock, thanifthesam'e were drilling through sand or soft dirt. The transmissioncomprises a casing 61f within which 60 the shaft 62' of the motor 12extends and a which shaft carries a gear 473 which constantly mesheswith a larger gear 64 fixed to a counter-shaft 65 which .is journalledin the casing. -A'stub shaft 66' also jour- 5 nalled in the casing andis'disposed in axial will be appreciated that the drilling tools.

end of the stub shaft having a 'gear.67 fixed thereto for constantmeshing engagementwith another gear-68 fixed toithe countershaft 65',anda gear 69 providedonthe other end'of s'aid stub shaft. The gear 69-constantly meshes with'a gear 70 on the alignment with the shafts 62fand 1 8, one

counter-shaft fof impartingajreduced speed thereto. The counter-shaft 65also has a gear 71 thereon for obtaining an intermediate speed, a gear72 for low speed and a gear 73 meshing with an idler gear. 74 forproducing a reverse rotation of the driven shaft 18 when the slidinggearsnow to be described are respectively engaged therewith. I

A double acting gear 7 5'is slidably mounted on the top end of thedriven shaft 18 and.

when in neutral osit-ion,-the same isdis- "posed in the position shownin Figure 2 of the drawings. "A larger gear 76 is also mounted on thedriven shaft 18 and is adapted to engage with the low gear 7 2 ortheidler gear 74 depending upon the direction of movement of the same; Thegear is actuated by a yoke 77 fixedly mounted on a sliding counter-shaft78while the gear 76 is'actu .ated by. a yoke 79 fixed on a slidingcountershaft 80. The yokes 77 and 79 are held in I a neutral position byequalizing springs 81 which encircle the shafts 78 and and abut oppositesides-of the yokes. Whenthe yoke 77 is actuated'in one direction, itwill-movethe gear 75 into co-acting engagement with the gear 71 to drivethe shaft 18:a't an,inter mediate speedbut if moved in an oppositedirection it will cause the said gear to mesh 1 with the gear 69'whichwill-rotate'the shaft- 18 at high speed.

The gears 75 and 7 6 are selectively controlled from the surface of thewell by electric means which includes solenoids '82 antl 82 'forreceiving therespective ends of the counter-shaft 78 and which acts asthe core of the solenoids. The solenoids 82 are arranged in separateelectric circuits 83 and 84 with a battery 85 and a knife switch 86having contacts 87 and 88 for engagement by a switch arm 89. It will beobserved that if the switch'arm is'r'nov'ed to'engage the.

contact 87 the solenoid'82 will be energized and'willmov'e the core or'countersshaftto cause the glen-'7 5 to mesh with the intermediate gear,1 against the action of the e ualizing springs 81. .Whenthe circuit isbro en,

the springs tend to move the core or countershafttoneutralposition.However, if the switch armis moved to engagg-ithe contact 88, thecircuit 83 is closed andwill'causeth'c gear 75 to engage gear 69 todrixe-shaft18 at high speed.

lar manner by soleno'ids89 and 90'which' are -ar ranged in circuits 91and 92 with an electric switch 93 and the battery 85. The switch 93comprises contacts 94 and-95 and a. switch '12s P i a The con"ter-shaft80'1sactuated m 8. 811111 arm 96'. Whenthe switch arm isengaged with contact 94, the circuit 91 is closed to energize thesolen0id'89 to put the gears in low speed, and when engaged with contact95, a reverse speed is obtained by reason of the energizing of thesolenoid 90. High speed is obtained by shifting the gears in a mannernow employed in automobiles, that is, by first going through the low andintermediate gear.

After the well has been drilled, the drill: ing apparatus is hoisted tothe surface of the well by pulling upward upon the cable 14, but thesections A, B and C are left at the bottom of the well. The concreteafter being poured into the wall form is left to dry, after which theshell sections 111 and 112 are lifted to the surface and uncoupled asthe screw joints appear. However, in order to release the catch device108 from the lower shell section, it is necessary to lower a separatedog alignment with the tails of the dogs 109 and openings 110, so as toengage and retract the bills of the dogs from the slots 113 and 114. Theblocks are expanded by a conical shaped head 123 which engages beveledfaces 124 on the blocks, and'which head is slidably and non-rotatablymounted within the casing 119. The conical head is provided with atubular extension 125 having internal screw threads for coaction with ascrew 126 which is driven by an electric motor 127 mounted in the base118. A cable 128 containing the wires leading to the motor extendsupward through the casing 119 to the surface of the well. An eye 129 isprovided at the top of the casing'119,

to which acable is attached for facilitating the lowering and lifting ofthe device into and out of the well. To expand the blocks 121, the motor127 is turned on which rotates the screw shaft 126 causing the upwardmovement of the head 123 to set up a wedging action between the sameandthe blocks. This action expands the blocks outward beyond the casingand into engagement with the tails of the locking dogs to retract thesame. The lowermost shell sections 111 and 112 are now released and arefree to be lifted out of the well. When the shell sections have beenremoved, the device 118 is lifted to the surfacev by'actuating the motorin an opposite direction to lower the head 123-to permit the springs 122to retract the blocks within the casing 119.

In Figure 14of the drawings, I have shown a slightly modified form of myinvention wherein the use of the crusher and pulverizer are dispensedwith and also the pneumatic means for blowing the drilled material tothe surface. In this form, the material is lifted to the top of theapparatus by a system of conveyors which will now be described. Theinner wall- 10 of the casing section-A is prov ded with outlet openings143 disposed .above the level of the motor and inlet open ings 144disposed above the conveyor 33 and tary motion is imparted to theconveyor 145 by the motor 12, whose drive shaft extends above the motorand has a gear 146 mounted thereon. Two gear trains 147 are respectivelydisposed on=opp0site sides of the axis of the motor shaft and whichimpart rotation .to the conveyor 145 through an annular series of gearteeth 148 provided on the top of the conveyor internally thereof. Thecylindris cal conveyor 145 is also shown in the pre ferred form foroperation with such a unit now being described when the necessityarises.

The top of the motor shaft is journalled in a spider 149 having an eye150 to which a cable is attached for lowering and raising the apparatusinto and out. of the well. A

spiral conveyor 151 is fixed t0 the motor shaft and picks up the drilledmaterial as it passes up through the openings 143. The drilled 'materialaccumulates above the conveyor 151' but the same tends to force theaccumulated mass to the surface. be used when drilling through soft dirtand also when a geologist desires to obtainanuntouched specimen of theearth or rock.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciatedthat theadvantages of my invention over the present method of drilling a wellare numerous, as it is unnecessary to.

remove the apparatus from the well after the drilling operation isbegun, other than for replacing the drilling tools or bits as theybecome worn. The drilled 'material is automatically removed from thewell and a concrete casing formed about the walls ofthe well during thedrilling operation. By this apparatus a well may be drilled in decidedlyless time-now than the method now followed and which is well known toone skilled in the 'art.

The principle embodied in this invention may be slightly changed to workin a horizontal position instead of vertical, and will be found mostuseful in digging subways, tunnels under rivers and wherever ahorizontal passage is desired. The onl changes necessary would be inincreasing t e size'of This form of unit may the units to facilitate theboring of holes of housing all operatively connected to said largerdiameters.

While I have described what I deem to be .eration thereby.

the most desirable embodiment of myinvention, it is obvious that many ofthe details may be varied without in any way departing from the spiritof my invention, and I therefore do not limit myself to the exactdetails of construction herein set forth nor to anything less than thewhole of my invention limited only by the appended claims.

-What is claimed as new is 1. In an apparatus of the class described,the combination of a tubular housing head, drilling means extending fromthe lower end of said tubular housing head, pulverizin means, conveyormeans for lifting the drille material from the bottom of a well to saidpulverizer means, and pressure means for lifting the pulverized materialto the surface of a well.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a tubularhousing head, drilling means extending from the lower end of saidtubular housing head, pulverizer means, conveyor means for lifting thedrilled material from the bottom of a well to said pulverizer means, andpressure means for lifting the pulverized material to the surface of awell and heating means for drying the drilledmaterial during its travelto said pulverizing means.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a tubular housing headadapted to move downwardly into a well during the drilling of the same,a driven shaftjournalledfor rotation within said housing head, a drillelement carried by the end of said driven shaft and extending beyond thelower end of said housing head, and means for lifting the' drilledmaterial from the bottom of a well to the surface thereof, said meansincluding a series of screw conveyors, crushing and pulverizing means,and pressure means for lifting the drilled material after beingpulverized.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, well drilling means,pulverizer means, lifting means for raising the drilled material fromthe bottom of a Well to said pulverizer means, and pressure means forlifting the pulverized'material to the surface of the well.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, well drilling means,pulverizer means, heating means, and lifting means for successivelyraising the drilled material from the bottom of a Well and passing itthrough said pulverizer means and said heating means to the surface of awell.

6. In a well drilling apparatus, a tubular housing, a driven rotatableshaft jouri nalled in said housing, a drill extending beyond the lowerend of said housing, a spiral 55 conveyor, and a pulverizer Within saidtubular driven rotatable shaft for simultaneous op- In testimony whereofI aflix my signature.

RICHARD P. SIMMONS.

